Ciao, Belluno

For all my photos from this genealogy quest, click here.


Closing thoughts:

Two of the old folks I spoke to in Sovramonte kept saying something that sounded like "emer." At first I thought they were saying email funnily. I don't know if it is a hamlet nearby Zorzoi or what. I also don't know how I'll ever find out...

Mr. Bellotto and my little old lady friend also told me that all the Bellottos came from the hamlet of Pontete (a frazione of Zorzoi). I am not sure where it is or if I walked through it, but I figured I'd write it down.

I need to get someone to help me understand this organization; it might have some useful information! Maybe it can help me with the two quandaries above.

When I first got to the Dolomites, "widely regarded as being among the most attractive mountain landscapes in the world (according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization)," I was so struck by their beauty I didn't understand why my ancestors had left. It's an official UNESCO World Heritage site for goodness sake!

After staying there for less than a week, in late June, I realized how harsh life must have been there more than 100 years ago.

There is still snow on the mountains; imagine how cold it must be there in the winter. And what kinds of homes did my family live in? Most of the houses I saw in Pedavena and Zorzoi seemed to have been built in the last 50 years. Perhaps my ancestors lived in old wooden shacks, or cold, stone farmhouses. Roads wouldn't have been paved, and cars didn't exist. Did they have horses? Did they hike everywhere?

One of the people I stayed with in Pren told me there was a lot of mining in the area since there were rich mineral deposits in the mountains. Perhaps that's why Romano Bellotto and the De Baccos chose to come to western Pennsylvania, so there would be some familiarity.

I wonder.

I hope they are looking down on me, happy with my quest. I hope one day in heaven to ask them how it really was, and to see how close I came to understanding my roots this past week.